By Nathaniel Nartey
Facebook: Nathaniel Nartey
Twitter: @Annertey_Nartey
A three-month Colombian Spanish Language Course for Ghanaian Diplomats and Public Servants had ended in Accra with a call for the government of Ghana to improve her engagements with the larger Spanish-speaking community, particularly Colombians.
The course which was held between August and October 2021, saw 17 Ghanaian Diplomats and Public Servants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre receive lessons in speaking and writing in the Spanish language.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ghana and Colombia in February 2014 has led to the training of more than forty (40) students each year until the outbreak of the novel Corona virus (Covid-19) in December 2020. Consequently, this resulted in a break in the training and migration of the studies to a virtual platform. So far more than 450 Ghanaian Diplomats and Public Servants have benefited from the initiative.
At a Closing Ceremony organised by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Accra, the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Henry Techie-Menson described the programme as “an ideal example of cultural diplomacy at work”.
He said “It is the Ministry’s wish that with improved Spanish language skills, we will be better positioned to explore the world and engage more meaningfully with the larger Spanish-speaking Community, particularly our friends from Colombia.
It is also my hope that the relations between Ghana and Colombia, particularly in the field of education will continue to grow as we deepen interactions”.
Colombia’s Ambassador to Ghana HE. Claudia Turbay Quintero believes the completion of the 8th Phase of the course “further strengthens the relations between our two countries, and it’s one of the best instruments for linguistic, cultural and friendly rapprochement, which allows both Colombia and Ghana’s diplomacy, to be more agile, complete and direct”.
She said, ”the Spanish language has provided the Government of Ghana a tool by which it equips its Public Sector; enabling efficient communication and closeness in the professional field and especially at the diplomatic level, with the Hispanic World”.
The Spanish language is one of the most spoken languages in the world, with 543 million Speakers.
The course was facilitated by the Pontificia Bolivariana University of Medellin in Columbia.
